This blog on Texas education contains posts on higher education, as well as preK-12 policy accountability, testing, bilingual education, immigration, school finance, race, class, and gender issues at both the state and national level. It also represents my digital footprint, of life and career, as a community-engaged scholar in Texas.
Thanks to University of Wisconsin Professor Anjalé Welton for helping me locate this Aspen Institute Toolkit on the cost of turnover in business. It strikes me that in this moment of school and district takeovers, that districts ought to prepare themselves and working closely with their legislators to calculate the real cost of such takeovers—also so that the public can be informed on such matters, ideally, of course, before this happens.
This published business tool by The Aspen Institute maps on fairly well in educational contexts. It doesn't capture, of course, all the grief, anger, and trauma as a real cost that we're witnessing right now in the Houston Independent School District after having gotten taken over by the Texas Education Agency. It is nevertheless helpful since folks across the political spectrum do tend to pay attention to money and finances.
This Cost of Turnover Tool is a simple, “back of the envelope” calculator to help you estimate
how much it costs your business to replace staff. The goal is to reasonably indicate the financial
impact of turnover on your company. Some turnover costs – what we’ve called the direct cost
of turnover – can typically be calculated using data collected as part of regular firm operations. Other
turnover impacts like lower employee morale or poorer customer service – what we’ve called the
indirect cost of turnover – are more difficult to quantify, but equally important to consider when
assessing the financial impact that turnover may have on your business.
Different industries experience turnover in different ways. For example, while a manufacturing firm may
engage a staffing agency to hire temporary workers, a retailer is more likely to rely on a fleet of hourly
workers who can quickly fill shifts. But a retail business may have longer lines and higher shrink when
turnover spikes. This tool allows you to pick the expenses relevant to your organization, and calculate
annual cost of turnover by estimating a few costs and using simple calculations. This information can
help you make the case for investing in upskilling and other strategies to improve retention.
This tool was developed jointly by UpSkill America and Reimagine Retail. To learn more about our work,
visit as.pn/upskill and as.pn/reimagineretail.
Getting Started
To use the tool, you will need to collect some data on the costs of separation associated with losing a
worker and of recruiting and onboarding a new employee to work productively. To help collect this
information, you should answer the following questions before you start.
- What position or occupation do you want to calculate costs for?
- Who do you need to collect information from?
- Who in your organization has information about separation, hiring, and onboarding
procedures and costs?
- Who is the manager who can provide information about the effects of vacancy and
procedures for onboarding new workers for this position?
Direct Cost of Turnover
A. Estimate separation costs for 1 worker
- Separation pay
- Time of HR and other staff to process separation, including participating in exit interview
B. Estimate daily vacancy costs for 1 worker
- Typical daily overtime wages for employee(s) that fill in to cover vacant shift
- Typical daily staffing agency cost for a temporary worker that exceeds the typical daily wage
- Estimated lost sales from no-shows
C. Estimate typical number of days to replace a worker
D. CALCULATE: Total vacancy costs for 1 worker
- Multiply daily vacancy costs (B) by days to replace a worker (C)
E. Estimate recruitment/screening costs for 1 worker
- Prorated cost of advertising the position
- Prorated share of fees paid to recruiting services
- Costs of screening and interviewing the typical number of applicants. For example:
- Time spent reviewing applications and scheduling and conducting interviews
- Cost of pre-employment testing; staff time to administer
- Cost of drug screen or other background checks; include staff time to coordinate
It's horrible to learn that under Superintendent Mike Miles' leadership—after his and the Texas Education Agency's (TEA) takeover of Houston Independent School District (HISD)—children "are receiving no instruction or assistance in Spanish at all." Stated differently, their civil right to bilingual education is getting denied. I imagine that this will play out in court at some future point, as the damage is predictable and already evident. Special education has also been decimated (see People's Report of HISD takeover at State Board of Ed). Miles' curriculum is fully mandated and it is destroying teachers' morale.
When HISD Superintendent stated—in reference to his own teachers and community members—at a Texas Tribune Festival event in Austin last September, “If they don't want to work in that kind of culture, they need to make the decisions that's right for them,” geez, how dismissive can a public school leader be?!!!
Plus, Miles is not only being racist against Spanish-speaking children and hostile to the public, but also anti-public education itself. With his own words and arrogance, he demonstrates how his agenda falls squarely in line with the privatizers like Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and many in the Texas Republican leadership that represent urban areas as opposed to those representing rural areas that have solidly voted against vouchers.
As a public, we all need to care about HISD. A first start is to listen to the People's Report of HISD takeover at State Board of Ed. Their testimonies begin at 1:09:00 (full testimony) on the meter with a shorter version taking place here. This is a clear attempt to dismantle public education in Houston.
The testimonies further point to how democracy is literally at risk given that there is no one in government to whom they can appeal this decision. As Commissioner Morath himself has been inaccessible to these parents, teachers, and this community, they had no choice but to testify at the Texas State Board of Education that says it has no jurisdictional power over the matter. Even the legal advisor at the Texas SBOE didn't know where to direct those that testified.
For one reading class, Superintendent Mike Miles said instruction would focus on English, even if it meant risking state funding for dual-language programs. Parents say it goes further than that, adding that their kids are receiving no assistance in Spanish at all.
Celina Manzano takes her children to school at Pugh Elementary School in East Houston on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023.
For Celina Manzano, Pugh Elementary School in East Houston is no longer the welcoming place it used to be.
Manzano’s family mostly speaks Spanish, so her son Maycol’s teachers used to provide them with translations of his homework and make time for her to ask questions. But under the leadership of the state’s recently appointed superintendent, most of those teachers left after they were required to reapply for their jobs.
Accommodations for Spanish speakers are practically gone, Manzano said. Maycol, who started second grade this year, has told her he doesn’t want to go to school anymore.
It’s been over a month since the Houston Independent School District started its first school year after the state ousted its democratically elected school board and replaced the district’s previous leader with Superintendent Mike Miles. Since then, complaints have been piling up among Spanish-speaking families, who say they are not getting the support they need. In Houston ISD, about 36% of students are either bilingual or English learners.
The state’s takeover of the district was in response to years of poor academic outcomes at a single campus. Under Miles’ tenure, Pugh Elementary and more than 80 other campuses now operate under his “New Education System,” which he describes as an “innovative staffing model that puts the focus on classroom instruction and improved student outcomes.”
Classes used to be half in English and half in Spanish in dual-language schools like Pugh. Miles previously said that dual-language education would continue and even expand under the NES model, but parents say that support for Spanish speakers has dwindled.
Mike Miles, the state-appointed superintendent of Houston ISD, discusses public education in Texas' largest city at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin on Sept. 23, 2023. Eddie Gaspar/Texas Tribune
Credit:
In particular, the new “Science of Reading” class — based on psychology and neuroscience research on how children learn to read and the skills they need to do so — is taught only in English.
“You cannot read well if you can’t decode, and you cannot decode if you don’t do it in English,” Miles said at a community meeting in July where he explained his approach to families. “So we’re gonna do the science of reading, decoding and language comprehension in English, and then we will supplement [many English learners’ native] language, Spanish.”
Miles told The Houston Chronicle last month he would try to keep reading instruction as close as possible to the 50-50 model, but his priority would be teaching children the science of reading, even if the uneven split means losing funding. State law requires dual-language programs to divide instruction equally between English and an English learner’s native language.
Miles did not respond to an interview request or emailed questions.
Parents say the changes have gone further than that, noting that this school year their kids are receiving no instruction or assistance in Spanish at all.
Marta Quinteros said her 8-year-old son Angel struggles to speak and understand English, and she feels like the district isn’t doing enough to support her son like last year.
Quinteros said when she asked teachers and administrators at Scroggins Elementary School if they could explain lessons slower or in Spanish to her son, she was told they couldn’t.
Angel has also had issues with bullying but told Quinteros he hasn’t told anyone at school because he is afraid school officials will tell him he needs to speak English and he can’t do it that well.
“‘I’m not going to learn English, I’m not going to,”’ Quinteros said her son has told her.
Duncan Klussmann, a clinical assistant professor of school leadership at the University of Houston, said Miles’ reforms are affecting Spanish-speaking and bilingual families because they do not allow for a lot of customization in students’ learning.
“What we know about education is when 1,000 students walk into a building each day they all have very different needs that need to be addressed,” he said. “It's still yet to be seen if the system that has been put in place will address the needs of bilingual students.”
Public education observers, teachers and parents have described Miles’ leadership and vision for the district as military-like and test-score-driven.
Several Houston ISD teachers and community members have criticized him for his “my way or the highway” approach, with Miles saying that those who don’t like his changes can choose to leave the district.
“If they don't want to work in that kind of culture, they need to make the decisions that's right for them,” he said at a Texas Tribune Festival event in Austin last month.
Under the NES schools, which were selected for the most significant immediate overhauls, every teacher had to reapply for their jobs with no guarantee they would be rehired. Those who stayed are monitored to make sure they are sticking to the curriculum and instructional materials provided by Miles’ leadership team.
Educators say Miles’ system has a rigid approach to teaching. They are tasked with following a strict teaching schedule, which district leaders created to reduce the time teachers spend preparing curriculum. Detractors say it limits educators' ability to decide how to teach their classes.
Teachers who spoke to the Tribune and requested to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation said Miles’ system requires them not to spend time repeating lessons — even when they feel like students didn’t fully understand the material — and to skip any ice breakers or socializing in their classes. Miles has monitors in NES schools to make sure teachers are not deviating from the curriculum.
Miles believes the bad experiences some teachers have described are purely anecdotal and has framed them as examples of the “status quo” thinking prevalent in the state’s education system.
David DeMatthews, an associate professor of educational leadership and policy at the University of Texas at Austin who has followed Miles’ career, said his approach will likely boost test scores. But DeMatthews doubts that such a system will produce sustainable academic improvements or help create a conducive environment for learning.
“That type of teaching is not going to be engaging over time. It's not going to be rewarding for teachers,” DeMatthews said. “This is a very fast-food approach to education.”
But Miles also has people rooting for his success. Sue Deigaard, a former Houston ISD school board member, said while she agrees that Miles’ changes have been abrupt, the district probably needed them.
“The intention to not waste another year for students who are behind is a commendable approach,” Deigaard said. “Our kids have had enough lost years.”
But she added that the new leadership could’ve done a better job at gathering input from the community, especially from people on those campuses that have experienced the greatest changes.
Klussmann said the underlying issue with the new system is whether Houston ISD leadership will give families options to opt out if it’s not working for them — especially in the midst of recent Republican efforts to allow parents to be more involved in decisions about their children’s education. One of the main arguments some Republican leaders have made for “school choice” — a proposal that would allow parents to use state funds to pay for their children’s private schooling — is that it would give low-income families more freedom to leave their school district if they’re not happy with it.
Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott called state lawmakers to return to Austin for a special legislative session starting on Oct. 9. He didn't indicate what the focus of the session will be but he has long said it would be on school choice, one of his biggest priorities this year.
“State leadership and the Legislature really focused on parental choice this last year and the parents should have a say in the type of education that their child is getting, and I think [whether Houston ISD lets parents opt out] is going to be a test at the state level,” Klussmann said.
Manzano said she is lucky to live in a school zone that would allow her to switch districts if she remains unhappy with the changes at Houston ISD — she could go to Galena Park ISD east of Houston — but many parents don’t have that choice, and their kids must conform to the new rules or fall behind.
For both Manzano and Quinteros, if things don’t change, they will look elsewhere for their children’s education.
“If things continue like this, I have to take my son out of this school,” Manzano said. “I don’t like what’s going on.”
Celina Manzano's children head to school at Pugh Elementary School in East Houston. Danielle Villasana/ Texas Tribune
Though published this past week, these news aren't so new, however, this piece provides important detail on how the Texas Education Agency and the State Board of Education's (Texas' Department of Education) are taking up anti-CRT bill, Senate Bill 3. I like that it notes the real confusion around the matter. If you read Lauren Shook's excellent essay on this same topic that I posted on Friday, confusion IS the point of SB 3.
The so-called “critical race theory” law prohibits teachers from discussing “a widely debated and currently controversial issue of public policy or social affairs.”
A new Texas law requires at least one teacher and one campus administrator at each school to undergo civics training that must be implemented no later than the 2025-26 school year. Credit:Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune
A more restrictive law designed to keep “critical race theory” out of Texas public schools became law on Thursday.
Under the new law, a “teacher may not be compelled to discuss a widely debated and currently controversial issue of public policy or social affairs.” The law doesn’t define what a controversial issue is. If a teacher does discuss these topics, they must “explore that topic objectively and in a manner free from political bias.”
It also requires at least one teacher and one campus administrator at each school district to attend a civics training program that will teach educators how race and racism should be taught in Texas schools.
There are more than 1,200 school districts in Texas. The cost to develop and implement the training program alone would be about $14.6 million annually, according to the Legislative Budget Board.
Senate Bill 3, passed during the Texas Legislature’s second special session ending Sept. 2, replaces House Bill 3979, which Gov. Greg Abbott signed over the summer. At the time, Abbott said more needed to be done to “abolish” critical race theory in Texas classrooms and lawmakers went to work to craft a more restrictive measure. The result was SB 3.
“It's not just about what a teacher may or may not say,” said Chloe Latham Sikes, deputy director of policy at the Intercultural Development Research Association. “It's also how they go about their class, how they design the class — how they might address really sensitive issues of race and gender and identity and sexism in their classrooms.”
Critical race theory isthe idea that racism is embedded in legal systemsand not limited to individuals. It’s an academic discipline taught at the university level. But it has become a common phrase used by conservatives to include anything about race taught or discussed in public secondary schools.
The new civics training mandated by the new law that requires attendance by at least one teacher and one campus administrator from each district will be created by the Texas Education Agency and it must be implemented no later than the 2025-2026 school year.
The state education agency has not yet released what this civics training program will look like. The law also requires the TEA to set up an advisory board for the training program.
The earlier attempt at a law to restrict what is taught in school caused so much confusion among educators that a North Texas administrator informed teachers at a training session in October that they had to provide materials that presented an “opposing” perspective of the Holocaust.
In records obtained by The Texas Tribune, the TEA has been advising school administrators that teachers should just continue teaching the current curriculum until the State Board of Education revises the social studies curriculum over the next year.
The new law also zeroed in on the New York Times’ Pulitzer Prize-winning 1619 Project, a collection of essays that centered on how slavery and the contributions of Black Americans shaped the United States. With this law, students cannot be required to read the 1619 Project essays. It also bars students from receiving credit for working as a volunteer with a political campaign or interning for companies or organizations where they will be lobbying. Also, any school district that uses an online portal to assign learning material has to give parents access.
“All of this is really about routing out any acknowledgement of the salience of sex, race, gender and silencing those conversations, which, in the end, ultimately hurt students of color and students in the LGBTQ community,” Sikes said.
News like these bring such joy! I happen to know and adore the principal of Dallas ISD’s Trinidad “Trini” Garza Early College High School and I've visited the campus, as well. These stories of these Title I schools illustrate that even in the context of a pandemic, caring school leaders that value students' home cultures and racial backgrounds coupled with high parent involvement and high expectations, our children in these schools can be college going.
I shamelessly shout out here to Trini Garza principal, as well as my former Cultural Studies and Education program doctoral student at UT.
Way to go, Dr. Macario Hernandez!
This must be your 6th such recognition or so. I'm losing count! And how fortunate for your students! I know they love you and all the grow-your-own, community-based teachers at Garza. Keep doing what you're doing. Your school is not just saving lives—as if that weren't sufficient—but you're helping young people achieve their dreams. Felicidades! Congratulations!
You can learn more about the award from the Texas Education Agency website. The future is truly in great hands with principals like Dr. Hernandez and Dr. Ferguson Rodgers.
The coveted honor recognizes schools for high performance and closing achievement gaps.
Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Collegiate Academy was just recognized as a 2021 National Blue Ribbon School for the first time since 2014. It's one of four Dallas-area campuses that received the National Blue Ribbon School honor Tuesday.(Emil Lippe / Special Contributor)
Four Dallas-area campuses received National Blue Ribbon School honors Tuesday, recognized for their high performance and work to close achievement gaps.
The schools, among 26 receiving the status in Texas, were Dallas ISD’s Trinidad “Trini” Garza Early College High School at Mountain View and Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Collegiate Academy; Mesquite ISD’s Porter Elementary School; and Christ the King Catholic School in Dallas.
The program selects campuses based on either how well students perform on standardized tests or how much progress they make in closing achievement gaps among student groups.
Students at Garza and Gilliam typically earn college credit while completing their high school diploma as well.
The majority of those at Garza will be first-generation college students, principal Macario Hernandez said. Among its 431 students, 88% are Hispanic and about 8% are Black. More than 85% come from families that are struggling financially.
The honor is “validation for all the hard work of our teachers and our students and our parents,” Hernandez said. He added that the status is a celebration for the teachers and students who persevered despite the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The school staff values students’ home culture, racial backgrounds and lived experiences, he said, which allows teachers and students to build relationships that transform the experience for the entire campus community.
“It’s a family that really builds on each other’s strengths,” Hernandez said. “Humility and valuing and respecting and working with people with compassion and empathy can go a long way.”
Gilliam principal Gayle Ferguson Rodgers said the award is proof that a school can perform at high levels despite its at-risk population.
A majority of its students, most of whom are Black or Hispanic, also come from low-income families.
“This award is a celebration of everyone’s efforts as we do our mission here at Gilliam, which is to have college access and success for all,” she said.
Ferguson added that being named a National Blue Ribbon School “wasn’t a goal,” but that the school’s community only focuses on delivering on its mission every day.
The staff’s commitment to the school’s vision “Every Child. Every need. Whatever it takes.” became abundantly clear for Porter Elementary Principal Leeann Englert when she began working at the Mesquite school. She credited parents for pushing the school to meet high expectations.
“The campus exudes this vision in every conversation they have and in every decision they make,” she said in a statement. “Everyone is deeply invested in the success of our children.”
The schools join more than 9,000 others that the National Blue Ribbon Schools program has recognized in the past 39 years.
“I commend all our Blue Ribbon honorees for working to keep students healthy and safe while meeting their academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a written statement. “In the face of unprecedented circumstances, you found creative ways to engage, care for, protect, and teach our children.”
The four local campuses are among 302 public and 23 private schools honored across the U.S. on Tuesday.
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from The Beck Group, Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, The Meadows Foundation, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University and Todd A. Williams Family Foundation. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.
Disappointing, but not surprising. We need to stop testing kids so that we can actually educate them.
You can hear Commissioner Morath defend his position here.
It should matter what teachers and parents say on the matter as they are the ones closest to the classroom and are most aware of how this testing culture is so detrimental to classroom instruction.
Please Texas, let's cancel these tests this spring.
A few things will be different for the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, however. Grade promotion requirements have been waived for students in grades five and eight, but high school seniors still must pass the exams to graduate. And the Texas Education Agency will not grade districts based on the results.
Many other things will be the same, including a requirement that students take the test in person, even if they have been learning remotely during the pandemic.
The testing plan has its critics. Democrats in the Texas House renewed calls Wednesday to cancel the test this year, saying that the STAAR test does not provide an accurate picture of how students and schools are performing.
“We cannot ask our schools to take on the burden of scheduling in-person STAARs for all the students across the state," state Rep. Alma Allen, D-Houston, said during a news conference. "We’re in the middle of a life-threatening pandemic. We also cannot ask our teachers or our school personnel, students and families to put themselves at risk for an unnecessary test.”
The state's largest teacher union also has urged state officials to suspend testing this year.
Supporters of the test say it will be crucial in measuring how much students have learned during the pandemic.
The test provides information about student achievement that can be used to inform changes and target resources to schools and students that need the greatest support, a Texas Education Agency spokesperson said.
State Rep. Dan Huberty, R-Houston, who has served as the chairman of the House Education Committee, said standardized testing is the best way to get a clear picture of where students stand compared to statewide learning goals. Standardized testing also is required by the national Every Student Succeeds Act in order for states to receive federal education funding, he said.
“We want to figure out how far behind kids are,” he told the American-Statesman. “We need to get a baseline because we didn’t take the test last year. We need to figure out where kids stand.”
More flexibility
State education officials say they are offering more flexibility for when districts can schedule the tests, typically administered in the spring, which include not only the STAAR but also the STAAR Alternate 2 for special education, and the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System and its alternate.
As in years past, districts can test students online or on paper, although all testing will occur in an in-person setting.
Heather Sheffield, board president for Texans Advocating for Meaningful Student Assessments, does not think the state should conduct the STAAR this year. She said the test results do not give teachers information fast enough to help students.
“It’s really autopsy data, teachers aren’t getting the results quickly,” she said. “Why are we spending money on a test that doesn’t really help our teachers and shuts down our schools for days or really weeks at a time?”
Sheffield wants the state to move away from the STAAR and toward a test that provides meaningful data and is not high stakes. She is glad that TEA is not giving districts A-F grades this year and would like to see the state transition to a rating system that does not rely only on standardized tests.
She's also pushing to eliminate tying the exam with graduation for high school seniors.
Huberty said that high school students who fail end-of-course assessments but meet certain requirements still have a path to graduate by receiving approval from an individual graduation committee.
'Unnecessary spending'
Clay Robison, spokesperson for the Texas State Teachers Association, which represents about 68,000 state teachers, said the group believes standardized testing and testing-based accountability should end. Robison said the test discriminates against students of color, low income students and students whose first language isn't English. If state education officials want to understand how students are performing, they should sit down with teachers, he said.
Robison said that money spent on the STAAR test could be better spent on other, more pressing things.
“It’s unnecessary spending,” he said. “It’s not a fair or effective way to measure student progress, nor is it an effective or fair way to measure teacher evaluations.”
Robison also questioned the state's commitment to spend $338 million to transitioning the test online, which was announced last month. This includes a three-year $262 million contract with the Washington, D.C.-based Cambium Assessment to manage the administration, scoring and reporting on an online testing platform.
London-based Pearson, which has been involved in Texas testing for four decades, was awarded $126 million over the same three years to develop the assessments. Pearson also has an existing testing contract that ends in August.
These two companies will take over from Educational Testing Service, which has a contract that ends on Aug. 31.
It's hard to keep up with a state so large as Texas. Could use some good history and analysis here if knowledgeable folks would like to post a comment.
Sister Mama Sanya, a community education activist, criticized Texas
Education Agency's planned takeover of the Houston Independent School
District on Thursday at Wheatley High School. Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune
Parents and residents of the state's largest school district filled a meeting atWheatley
High School Thursday evening to give state education officials a
message: They would prefer their elected school board overone chosen by the state.
Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath last week announced he plans
to take over the 200,000-student Houston Independent School District
and appoint a board of managers to run its schools.
Lining up at the Texas Education Agency's second community meeting since then, people voiced concerns about losing local control of their schools and not having a mechanism to hold newdistrict leaders accountable.
Morath's decision, which could be finalized within the next few
months, came as a result of Wheatley's repeated low performance in state
ratings and the school board's alleged malfeasance, detailed in a
recent state investigation report.
AJ Crabill, Morath's special advisor, stood alone at the front of the
room Thursday fielding the barrage of questions. He asked for input
about how the state should select members of the board and how it should
hold them accountable, promising to incorporate local feedback as he
developed the process.
"It's discouraging to see what's going on," said Tori Presley, whose
daughter is a senior at Wheatley High School. Presley lamented how often
her daughter sees the news about theschool's low ratings plastered on social media and blasted on television.
"The state coming in and taking over our community? Man, that's the worst thing you can do," she told The Texas Tribune.
Martin Almazan, a Houston ISD resident, was the only person to say he
thought an appointed board might help improve education, garnering
jeers and angry headshakes from the audience. "What is the alternative?"
he said. "We did this to ourselves."
Crabill regularly pointed to state law when responding to questions
about why the takeover was happening, despite the district's overall B
rating and list of high-performing schools. Lawmakers decided in 2015 to
require state education officials to take harsh action after a school
had failed for more than four years, either shutting that school down or
appointing a board to run the entire district. Morath chose the latter
instead of closing Wheatley High School.
Crabill regularly pointed to state law when responding to questions
about why the takeover was happening, despite the district's overall B
rating and list of high-performing schools. Lawmakers decided in 2015 to
require state education officials to take harsh action after a school
had failed for more than four years, either shutting that school down or
appointing a board to run the entire district. Morath chose the latter
instead of closing Wheatley High School.
The state has replaced the school boards for a few smaller districts
in the last few years, for financial mismanagement, school board
dysfunction and low academic performance. An appointed board of managers
would likely run theHoustondistrict for two to five years, before Morath transitions power back to elected officials.
Houston ISD is currently suing the state to prevent a takeover, arguing that it would disenfranchise black and Hispanic voters.
